Does it ever seem that no matter what you say, it does not come out right? If so, enjoy this story and know that you are not alone. And remember what a wise man once said, “Sometimes the best thing said was the thing left unsaid.” (Come to think of it, my husband was probably the one who first made that statement, right after I stuck my foot in my mouth for about the zillionth time.)
A Newspaper Story
Supposedly, there was an old newspaper story that carried a news account of a petty crime that stated in part, “Officer Jones is a defective on the local police force.”
The next day, the hometown printed another statement, “Yesterday, we said, ‘Officer Jones is a defective on the local police force.’”
We apologize for the error. We meant to say, “Officer Jones is a detective on the local police farce.”
On the third day of the newspaper debacle, they printed another statement of apology: “Two days ago, we erroneously called Officer Jones a defective on the police force. Yesterday, trying to correct the error, we called him a detective on the police farce. We also wish to correct this error and say that we’re sorry we even mentioned Officer Jones or the story!”
Yes, sometimes, it seems that no matter what we say or write, it is just not correct.
But let’s get really serious for a moment!
Did you know that in the United Kingdom, Christians and supporters of pre-born babies have been arrested for silently praying outside abortion clinics?
You read that correctly. Silently praying!
People have been arrested in England for what they thought and prayed – not for what they said or wrote.
For example, in 2022, and again in 2023, Isabel Vaughan-Spruce was arrested for supposedly breaking a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) near an abortion facility in Kings Norton, Birmingham, England, as she prayed silently for the expectant mothers entering the clinic.
As a bit of background info, several boroughs and cities across England and Wales began instituting PSPO acts under the national Anti-social Behavior, Crime and Policing Act of 2014. But unlike this censorship measure used against Vaughan-Spruce, most of the PSPO violations concerned loud cars, unruly pets, drunken neighbors, and the like.
It’s hard to imagine how officers thought they could prosecute Vaughan-Spruce successfully for her thoughts. Granted, the long-time charity worker had been warned on previous occasions not to go near the abortion clinic. So, it was no surprise to her when the police approached her that day.
But it was a total surprise when they arrested, searched, and booked her for engaging in a purposeful “act of approval or disapproval or attempted act of approval or disapproval” in relation to abortion, including through “verbal or written means, prayer or counseling…”
Wait a minute. Silent prayer for a pregnant mother is a whole lot different from speaking to her, writing to her, or counseling her.
“What I did was the furthest thing from harmful,” stated Vaughan-Spruce after her arrest. “I was exercising my freedom of thought, my freedom of religion, inside the privacy of my own mind. Nobody should be criminalized for thinking and for praying in a public space in the UK.”
In late August of 2024, after filing suit against Birmingham’s West Midlands Police Department (WMPD), Vaughan-Spruce was awarded a $16,900 financial settlement for false imprisonment, assault and battery, and breaches of her human rights.
In essence, the police were wrong, and Vaughan-Spruce was right: Nobody should be criminalized.
But sadly, they are.
On October 16, on the southern coast of England, the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council (or court) convicted Adam Smith-Connor, a British army veteran, of violating an abortion clinic’s “buffer zone,” simply because he prayed silently outside the facility.
Upon his conviction, Smith-Connor was conditionally discharged. This means that if he commits this offensive thought-act in the next two years, he could be sentenced to jail time and ordered to pay prosecution costs of 9,000 pounds ($11,700 in U.S. currency).
Smith Connor was represented in this case by Jeremiah Igunnubole, legal counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom International, and Igunnubole believes the ruling is “a legal turning point of immense proportions.”
“A man has been convicted today,” explained Igunnubole, “because of the content of his thoughts, his prayers to God – on the public streets of England.”
Smith-Connor spoke passionately about the entire ordeal: “I served for 20 years in the army reserves, including a tour in Afghanistan, to protect the fundamental freedoms that this country is built upon.
“I continue that spirit of service as a health care professional and church volunteer. It troubles me greatly to see our freedoms eroded to the extent that thought-crimes are now being prosecuted in the UK.”
It is also troubling that as of October 31, 2024, the Home Office of the United Kingdom announced a nationally legislated ban on “influencing” within 200 meters (nearly the length of two football fields) of an abortion facility. Passed as part of the Public Order Act of 2023, this ban signals a new era of thought-policing.
And if history repeats itself, this ridiculous, totally invasive trend will probably make its way “across the pond” before long.
Truth be told, over the past several months, almost two dozen Americans have been convicted under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act in connection with incidents at abortion clinics in Michigan, Tennessee, and Washington, D.C.
With exorbitant fines and sentences ranging from probation to 2-10 years of incarceration, these controversial arrests and convictions, including that of an 89-year-old Holocaust survivor, are reminiscent of terrorist-style intimidation tactics.
So, go ahead and face it, the FACE act is concerning. Study it for yourself, if you disagree.
Furthermore, if the thought of thought-policing for thought-based crimes does not concern you as well, then perhaps your thoughts have already been policed by liberal, woke media’s brainwashing.
If not, then take heed of God’s thoughtful warning in Romans 12:2,
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
